Night
by Vinarth
Summary: Steve is hungry, exhausted, and very much alone. He thinks he has survival mastered, but a young girl changes his ideas of this world forever. Together they fight against the creatures of the night in a world devoid of salvation. Mob Talker Girls, Rated M for Adult Themes and Language.
1. This World of Survival

Hello! This was a story that I had on my old profile, **hydrogen2oxygen98**. I am now **Vinarth** and am going to be uploading much more consistently. This is a rewrite of a story that I wrote two years ago, and since then, my writing has greatly improved.

 **Chapter 1 - This World of Survival**

 _Minecraft._

 _How I got here isn't important._

 _Who I was doesn't matter._

 _Who I am and who I will be depends on one word: Survival._

 _Survival of the Fittest._

 _Survival of the Strongest._

 _Survival of the Smartest._

 _Running is your life. The faster you can run, the better your chances become. Bravery gets you nowhere in this world; to keep running and never look back is what keeps you alive. This is Survival of the Fittest._

 _The weak are the first to go. They cower in fear and are too scared to make a getaway. Hiding will lead to your inevitable death. They will always find you, and they will always kill you. This is Survival of the Strongest._

 _Know every day could be your last, know the terrors of the night, know how to be resourceful under pressure. This is Survival of the Smartest._

 _This is a world where the creatures of nightmares are alive, and these rules of Survival must be followed. This is not Minecraft! This is essentially Earth with Creepers._

 _NO easy blocks that break in a few seconds._

 _NO easy inventory._

 _NO easy diamond sword._

 _The only thing you can do each night is hide and pray. Then RUN._

 _\- Steve_


	2. The Girl

Hello readers, I am **Vinarth**! If you stay tuned, you'll find that this story will be different than most other Minecraft fanfics. Please review! (It motivates me to write faster)

 **PART I**

 **Chapter 2 - The Girl**

_Steve woke up just before sunset like he always did. He stood up, stretching his legs and arms to prepare for another dangerous night. He heard his stomach growl and realized how much it hurt from lack of nutrition. Searching the pockets of his baggy cargo shorts, all he found was the guide he had been writing on a piece of birch bark and a thin strip of meat. With a great deal of self control, he managed to savor the taste in his mouth rather than just inhaling it.

_Sighing, he picked up his makeshift wooden sword for protection. The process of making it had taken all the spare time away from three days; he had to find dry, unrotted wood on the ground, cut it to size, and shape the blade with a stone. Crafting one like it in the Minecraft computer game took just a few seconds.

_He continued on his way, as the last bit of sun slipped under the horizon. He was only three weeks into this ordeal and the only things he wore were his shorts and sneakers, which were starting to wear thin. He was sweaty, blistered, bruised, and sunburned. On top of that was the malnutrition and monsters; any normal person would've given up and quietly died of exhaustion. Having recently seen the bones of someone who came before him, Steve was getting ready to do just that.

_The sky grew dark, and the moon came out. Night was here. Danger was here. Nothing explained the number of monsters that spontaneously appeared as soon as the light level dropped.

_Steve stuffed his sword in back of his pants and climbed a tall pine. This lookout helped him most nights until the spiders came. Standing on top of it, he could scan his surroundings for monsters; if a large group of mobs was getting closer, climbing down and running would be the safest option.

_Seeing that nothing dangerous was in his vicinity, Steve started looking off in the distance. Scanning the horizon he saw a black figure and could barely making it out. Squinting, he looked harder. Then he heard static.

_"Oh...Shit! Enderman!" Steve breathed, his heart beginning to accelerate. _But there's no way anything can teleport, except in video games_ , He reassured himself. But at that moment, it disappeared. Something sank in Steve's stomach as goosebumps shot up his neck. Frozen in fear, his brain shouted one thing: "RUN"

_Steve jumped out of the tree and onto a zombie, cushioning the long drop, and ran for his life. He looked back, the enderman was about 80 meters away and almost recognizable. Steve cursed under his breath at how bad the night was going. Usually he didn't have to start running until an hour or two before sunrise, never the whole night.

_The static became louder until it was the only thing he could hear. Looking over his shoulder, its gaping jaw and purple eyes burned into his vision. Steve tried to press on, but realized that no amount of running would ever get him away from an enemy that teleports.

_The enderman teleported right in front of him, bringing him to an immediate stop. "So this is how it ends" Steve said and chuckled. He drew his wooden sword and accepted his inevitable bloody death.

_Seeing the sword, the enderman disappeared and Steve stood there confused. _Was it scared of my weapon?_

_Suddenly, there was a teleport noise behind him and with it came a blow to the side of his head.

_The crack of Steve's skull fracturing echoed through the forest. Steve fell to the ground; barely conscious, he looked up at the enderman for mercy. Zombies started to crowd around at the thought of fresh human flesh. As they closed in, Steve said a quick prayer to God asking for heaven.

_Suddenly, an explosion shook the earth and two of the zombies fell over in pain. Steve looked up to see what was happening. The dust cleared and a teenage girl emerged.

_She spun around and kicked a zombie's face in while grabbing another and throwing it against a tree. The two remaining slowly backed up and ran away.

_Smiling, she stared straight at the enderman, challenging him. The jaw reopened and the enderman disappeared in a flash of purple particles. The girl then counted on her fingers to three and curled up in a ball. The enderman reappeared, swinging at where her head used to be and missed, the ball she was in emitted a bright light followed by another explosion; this one twice as strong as the previous. The enderman fell to the ground, knocked out and severely burned.

_The girl swayed her hips as she walked over to Steve. But instead of going for him, she grabbed his wooden sword. She walked back over to the enderman, cut off his head, and grabbed the ender pearl inside.

_"W-who?" was all Steve could make out. He couldn't take the throbbing in his head anymore and blacked out.

_The girl walked over to his limp body and smiled. "Finally, someone like me! A human!" She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him to her house in the cave. "I can't wait until you wake up!"

\- [ ] -

_Steve felt a strange warmth radiating on his body. He opened his eyes to find that he was only a few meters away from a lava pit in a small cave. He began to move, and with great difficulty, sat up. A sharp pain returned to his forehead and he doubled over in pain. Reaching up, he found his head was bandages with some sort of cloth, soaked with dry blood.

_His headache was too much, and he was forced to lie back down. _How long was I out? How did I get here? Who's taking care of me?_ Turning his head to the entrance answered his questions. The girl that had saved him was sleeping against a wall, facing him.

_Steve was instantly amazed by her beauty, at how healthy she seemed for someone who lived in this world. Her long orange hair spilled out of her green creeper hoodie that stopped just below her waist. Because of the angle she was sitting, he was able to look up her hoodie at her forrest green panties, which seemed a size too small. Steve tore his eyes away, scolding himself for being such a pervert. _Wow was she cute! The silky skin, small breasts and everything else; and I don't even know her yet!_

_The girl began to stir and Steve pretended to still be asleep. She pulled her hoodie a little lower, realizing that it was revealing, and knelt beside Steve.

_"Hey," She whispered, stroking his shoulders, "It's morning, Mr. Human. Time to get up," She began to take off the bandages as Steve pretended to wake up.

_"Ugg..." He groaned, slightly in pain as the cloths were removed. "How long was I out?" He asked, looking up at her.

_"About seven hours; sunrise should be soon. Anyway, do you want some bread Mr. Human?"

_Steve couldn't refuse the bread. He hadn't eaten well since he got here, and there was more than enough to go around. "Who are you?" He asked between mouthfuls.

_"The human who saved you" she replied.

_"I know that much, I was conscious until you cut off the enderman's head. I meant what's your name?"

_"My name?"

_"Yes... Your name." Steve repeated, a little confused.

_"Ummm... I believe the name I was assigned was Cupa"

_"Cupa? Hmm... interesting. Anyway, the name's Steve; not Mr. Human. Why were you calling me that?"

_"You are a human right?"

_"Don't I look like one?"

_"Well looks can be deceiving..."

_"What's that supposed to–"

_"Come on, lets watch the sunrise!" She shot up and started toward a set of stairs. Steve tried to get up too, but lost balance and fell back down. The second time he got up, Cupa was there to help him keep his balance.

_"Thanks."

_"Come on, we're gonna miss it!"

_They were much closer to the surface than he thought, meaning that Steve only had to climb one flight of stairs in his weakened condition. Cupa lowered Steve onto a log and sat beside him. Sunrise really was beautiful. Its chalky red sky marked the end of night, the end of fear, the end of paranoia. Zombies and Skeletons burned up, Spiders retreated to their nooks, and Creepers despawned. Only to come back the following night of course, but it was a beautiful calm between storms.

_As they sat there in silence, Steve's head began spinning. _This girl? Who is she? What did she mean when she said "looks can be deceiving"; what else other than a human could I be? How is she undamaged by this world? She doesn't even have calluses for God's sake! And although it's entirely possible I was hallucinating at the time; I could've sworn I saw her blow up. Twice!_ His brain hurt thinking about it, his brain hurt not thinking about it. _Speaking of my head_ , he felt around my head, and sure enough there was a really soft spot in the back right. It doubled the pain to the touch. _That bastard enderman broke my skull! It's a wonder I'm still alive!_ Cupa was saying something about how pretty the sun was; but Steve couldn't hear her because the pain increased to the point where it engulfed his other senses. As his brain swelled, Steve blacked out again.


	3. The Stone

Hello readers, I am **Vinarth!** This is where the story starts to get interesting... Please review! (It motivates me to write faster)

 **Chapter 3 - The Stone**

_Cupa sighed as Steve lost consciousness again. _He's as good as dead,_ she thought, _if only I had saved him sooner. My abilities could've made it possible. He's my only companion, and if he dies, I'm alone in this world. Well, not entirely alone... there's always Teacher._

_"That's it! I'll take him to Teacher!" She exclaimed as she came to a sudden realization. "Teacher will know what to do! Come on Steve," Unable to carry him, she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along, "We're going deeper into the caves!"

\- [ ] -

_Cupa dragged Steve back into the lava room. She grabbed a large piece of bark, big enough to support Steve, and rolled him onto it. She then dragged that instead of his wrist before continuing the trek through the caves.

_It was dark. Pitch-black actually, but Cupa was able to see just fine due to her… abilities. Tired of pulling, Cupa stopped to take a break about 15 minutes in. She sat down next to Steve, and although there was no light, she could've sworn she saw some sort of shadow on the wall.

_A few seconds later, she continued on her way, but was now cautiously looking around. A moan was the answer she was looking for.

_"Damn! I was almost there too... Come out and fight me like monsters!" Even Cupa couldn't see a whole lot, but when she felt something brush up against her, she exploded, careful not to hurt Steve. _There were only two in that pack, which means I need to get to Teacher before the rest show up._ Cupa gave up with the bark and instead threw Steve over her shoulders. "God! Why are you so heavy?" She complained, struggling under his weight.

_The caves started to brighten again as they approached a sort of underground temple. Cupa gasped when she saw a pack of seven between them and the entrance of the temple. There was no choice now; she had to turn into monster form in order to drive them off. A flash of white light and an explosion later, all of the zombies were knocked out, but Steve had woken up.

_"Uggg... What's going on?" Steve dizzily sat up and looked around. The first thing he laid his eyes on was Cupa; in creeper form.

_"Ahh! G-get away from me!" Steve got up to run and immediately fell down again. The Creeper walked closer to Steve and could see the fear in his eyes. It started to glow white, but instead of exploding turned into Cupa. "Wha... Cupa?"

_"Yes"

_"You're a–"

_"Yes. Look Steve, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but–"

_"Get away from me!" Steve pushed her off of him and tried to crawl away.

_"You don't trust me?"

_"People who trust anyone other than themselves die in this world! I'm better off on my own!"

_"Yes, but if you're on your own then no one can help you. I want to help you, it's only a few more–"

_"You're one of them!"

_"No I'm not! I have consciousness! I have sentience!"

_"A self-aware creeper is the last thing I need! I'm leaving."

_"I'm just what you need! You can't possibly make it out of these caves by yourself Steve! I don't want the only human I know to die!"

_"If that's true then why are we in these caves in the first place?"

_"To heal you!" Cupa was starting to cry "I risked my life coming down here in human form, just to save yours! You ungrateful, ignorant jerk! If I was going to kill you, why did I save you from that enderman! I hope all humans aren't complete assholes like you!" Steve, just stood there, stunned at her outburst and angry at the fact that he hadn't made this connection. "Come on, *snif* we're almost there"

_Both of them walked into the temple in silence. It was an enormous structure; spherical in shape and had a golden pedestal in the center. Lit by rows of fire up the walls, everything was clearly visible. As they walked down to the center, Steve looked over at Cupa. Her face was red and she wiped away a tear, obviously hurt at what Steve had thought of her. _I'm an asshole_ , Steve thought, _but for some reason, I still can't bring myself to trust her._

_As they approached the golden pedestal, it became clear that there was a blue, translucent stone sitting on it.

_"What is that?" Steve said as he gestured to the rock.

_" _That_ ," Cupa said, "is Teacher"

_"Teacher?" Steve asked

_"Yes, Teacher," a third voice said. And the room started to spin.

_"Cupa! Is the room spinning or is it just my head?"

_"The room is spinning Steve."

_Their platform did not move, but the room around them really started to move. The wind started to pick up and the fire danced on the walls. As the speed increased, the flames created elaborate, mesmerizing patterns. All this happened in a few seconds before everything stopped and both Steve and Cupa blacked out.

\- [ ] -

_"Steve! Rise!" A strong, male voice commanded. Steve opened his eyes and stood up. He seemed to be standing in a field, back on the surface and looked around for the source of the voice. He soon had his answer as an owl with a 5 meter wingspan landed in front of him. It was also a translucent blue, like the rock.

_"Your body is right where we left it, your mind is here in the Subconscious Plain! I am Magister, or Teacher in desired form, at your service! If you haven't received a proper greeting yet then I have one for you now; welcome to Minecraft!"

_"Welcome?"

_"Yea!"

_"Welcome!?"

_"Yes!"

_"Welcome!?"

_"Uh... I think so?"

_"Let me tell you something here Teacher. I lost my old life coming here! I lost home! I lost things! I lost friends! I lost family! I was placed in a savage world destitute! And you tell me WELCOME?"

_"Yep."

_"Tell me why"

_"I can't; not now"

_"Well then what was the point of bringing me down here?"

_"To rejuvenate you," teacher stated.

_"What?"

_"When you regain consciousness you'll find that your skull has healed, you'll have a full stomach, and you will have muscle mass and other physical characteristics reverted to how they were when you got here a little over three weeks ago."

_"Oh. Thank you."

_"I'm not the one you should be thanking; you should be thanking Cupa."

_"Huh?"

_"I have a limited range of influence; about 50 meters, so although I am almost omniscient, I can't move (and require large amounts of energy to run.) So Cupa had to bring you down here in order for me to heal you. She risked a lot; she traveled almost 300 meters in pure darkness, in human form, dragging the piece of bark carrying you behind her."

_"She could've died! Why would she do that?"

_"Are you lonely Steve?"

_"What does that have to do with anything?"

_"Are you lonely?"

_"A little at times"

_"Guess who else is lonely?"

_"Cupa?"

_"She's lived here her whole life of fifteen years; never once has she seen another human. I'm the only other sentient life she's ever known! I've been filling her up with information on humans in hopes that one day, she might run into one."

_"So?"

_"Steve! There is a difference, a big difference, between _surviving_ and _living_. Just because this world is evil doesn't mean the people in it are! Cupa wants to live! That's why she risked her life to save the only person she knew! She's lonely and has finally found a companion"

_"I wish I could say I would do the same for her..."

_"That doesn't matter! Now whether you choose to apologize to her or not is up to you, but I strongly recommend that you cooperate with her; it would help both of you out. That is all. Return to Minecraft!"

_Steve woke up and looked around. He was still in the temple, but he felt great! He didn't have a near-seizure headache, he wasn't hungry, he wasn't tired, and he could stand on his own! He hadn't felt this alive in a while.

_"Thank you Magister!" Steve called out, "No, thank you Cupa! Where is she?" he looked to the pedestal and found Cupa floating in the air next to the stone, staring at it in a trance.

_After a few minutes, they did come down; the stone returned to its previous location, and Cupa was gently placed on the floor. A few seconds later, she woke up. Steve was kneeling over her and she immediately looked the other way, holding her grudge.

_"Hey Cupa," Steve started.

_"What do you want?"

_"Are you still mad from before?"

_"Why shouldn't I be?"

_"Listen, I'm sorry about before, I get that way sometimes. I've been stuck in hell for what seems like forever, so when I got a blessing, I didn't recognize it at first and pushed it out of the way. I apologize for being self-centered and rude. Will you forgive me?"

_Cupa blushed a little but then straightened her face before answering, "only if you treat me like a human rather than a monster"

_"Of course I will, thanks for bringing me down here!''

_"Come on, let's go" Cupa got up and started to walk out.

_"Wait!" The third voice said. Both of them looked at the stone. "Two things, One; Steve, good job, I know that saying sorry is hard for you! Two; take me with you."

_"What?!" They both said together.

_"Take me with you."

_"Why?" Cupa said

_"Because I'm bored."

_"Good enough reason as any, welcome to the team!" Steve said and Cupa rolled her eyes.

_"Thank you, I feel welcomed. If you look on the underside of my pedestal you will find that you can pull out the bronze sword that is stashed there. It may help. I'm going to sleep now."

_Steve put the stone in his pocket and grabbed the sword. Together he and Cupa walked out of the cave system, ready to face the world. The World of Minecraft.


	4. The Traveler

Hello readers, I am the author, **Vinarth!** Thank you, **CaptainClipy** , for being the first to review my story and for encouraging me to update! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my story, please review if you want to see more updates! (And PM me if you find any mistakes)

 **Chapter 4 - The Traveler**

_Cupa and Steve encountered no resistance on the way out of the cave; it seemed that Magister gave off enough light to repel monsters.

_In a week's time, they had finished a wooden hut against the side of a mountain with a workable door. Still as an extra precaution, they took shifts each night. Because he was finally able to sleep at night again, Steve became ten times more productive.

_Cupa showed Steve a fruit tree that made a fruit that tasted like an under-ripe plum, but was the size of a large apple. Calling it a plumapple tree, this food supply made hunting for meat from pigs and other animals unnecessary.

_Cupa managed to get some wool off the roaming sheep, and, winding it tight, made it into strings. With this she made a hammock for the person who wasn't on watch.

_Magister spent a lot of time "thinking" and really only lit up the house at night.

_One week after that, they went exploring, and that is where the next chapter of our story begins...

\- [ ] -

_"Ready?" Steve shouted from outside the hut.

_"Hold on!" replied Cupa, "We have to make sure we remember everything just in case we can't make it back before sunset."

_"Come on, we'll make it back way before then, just throw whatever you got in the leather backpack I made."

_"What if we forget something?"

_"Cupa, with all the stuff you brought, you two could stay a night and fight off twenty zombies!" Steve reassured her.

_"Okay, but what if—"

_"Just go explore already!" Magister suddenly interrupted, "You've already wasted an hour of sunlight!"

_"Ok we're going, watch the house while we're gone!" said Steve

_"Will do!" said Magister

_"Bye!"

_Both Cupa and Steve were aiming to find the highest point they could so they could map their surroundings out. Their house would be easy enough to spot from a high place; it was against a mountain and in a clearing.

_Finding the tallest tree in the area, Steve took his pack off and pulled various items from his pockets, setting them down as well. "I think that we should climb this tree to find where the highest point in the area is," he suggested

_"Ok... sure"

_Steve grabbed hold of the lowest branch and pulled himself up. "Are you coming up?" he asked, giving her his hand.

_"No thanks, I'm not the strongest..."

_"That's not true at all! You beat the shit out of that enderman I looked at!"

_"True..."

_"So come on up..."

_"No."

_"There's a great view!" He teased, giving her a little nudge.

_"NO."

_"Why not?"

_"I'm scared of heights OK!"

_Steve burst out laughing and Cupa blushed.

_"Sto-op it!"

_"The great, fearless Cupa, slayer of hundreds of horrors, gets dizzy a few feet off the ground? I don't believe you!"

_"No! It's true! Leave me alone!"

_"Fine, suit yourself. I'll just take a quick look." Steve quickly climbed up the tree to get a look of where they were. He enjoyed the wind, sun, and fresh air that resided above the tallest of trees. He squinted down to where Cupa was, and found that she was looking up at him as well. He gave her a little wave and surveyed the surroundings.

_"We're in luck!" He called down to her

_"Why's that?"

_"Just a sec!" He made his way down the tree with ease, swinging on a few of the branches. "Okay, with the pond in front of us being 12 o'clock, our house is at 7 and the tallest mountain is at 2. It looks pretty overgrown though.

_"It must be in another biome; probably jungle."

_"Wait, there are biomes here too?"

_"Yep."

_"Wow..." Steve briefly spaced out in wonder, unaware that he was looking in Cupa's direction when he did this.

_"So are we going to go sometime today or what?" she teased, poking him back.

_"Y-yea, let's go now!" Steve scooped up his things.

_They journeyed onto where the forest and jungle biomes met. Steve thought it was an interesting experience transitioning from one to the next. It felt like he walked through some sort of remarkable bubble that prevented winds from occurring between the two temperature zones. Cupa just walked right through it without batting an eye, giggling at Steve's dumbfoundedness.

_"Wow the temperature and the upward climb make a killer combo," said Cupa as she took a drink at a brook they found. As dangerous as the monsters made the wilderness, at least the water was almost always clean and fresh.

_"Yea, next on my to-do list is make some canteens." Steve noted aloud at Cupa's sloppy drinking, "You realize you're getting it all over your shirt?"

_"Does it look like I give a fuck?" She winked.

_Steve rolled his eyes, "In about 20 minutes, lets continue with our hike."

_"Is minute a measurement of time?"

_"Yeah, wait— I thought Magister gave you all the information he had on humans. You should know about how long a minute is."

_"Teacher can't give me all the information at once; instead he gives me small lessons about once every seven days. If he had enough energy, he could technically teach it all to be in an instant, but it would involve consuming a ton of matter."

_"Woah, slow down! He can teach it to you in an instant? How? He consumes matter to run? What do you still have to learn?"

_"Ummmmm…" Cupa thought for a moment, "So, it works like this, I believe the word he used was program? He 'codes' the information into my brain?" She bit her lip, thinking hard, "I really don't know how it works, but I know that I go to sleep and I wake up knowing things! It's fun! Some things that he does requires more energy than others, and to get the energy, he absorbs the matter around him. As for the topics that I have to still learn, I don't really know, I just know that there are seventeen left and two big ones are human anatomy and sex."

_"Okay…" Steve said, not understanding all of what she said. B _etter not make a move on her then_ , he thought, "Getting back to what I was saying earlier; you know what a day is, but you don't know what a minute is?"

_"Yep."

_"How did you understand my 12 o'clock mapping then?"

_"I didn't, I just followed- AAAAAAAAAH" Cupa suddenly screamed.

_"What?" Steve jumped up, drawing his sword. "What is it?"

_"C-c-cat!" She hid behind a log.

_"Oh, come ON! You have to be kidding!" He said, stuffing it back in his belt loop.

_"G-get it away f-from me!"

_"I know ocelots and cats repel creepers in-game but-"

_"Stop talking and get your ass over here!"

_"Fine, fine" Steve walked between Cupa and the cat. "Shoo! Before Cupa beats you or something!" The ocelot sat down and began grooming itself. "Up you go!" Steve said, scooping it up by the scruff of the neck. He brought it further into the woods so that it wouldn't run into them again.

_"T-thanks" Cupa said when Steve returned, "I know it's an irrational fear, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still scared."

_"That's two for you today,"

_"Shut up…" Cupa said a little too coldly.

_"Are you ready?" Steve asked after a few seconds

_"Yeah, we can go when you're ready."

_"Lets go then."

_They reached the top of the mountain about an hour later, a little after midday, and they were burning up. The hike, the heat and the humidity drained their energy. They sat down on the open rock to take in the breeze and view.

_"Plumapple?" asked Steve

_"Yes please"

_"Here you go. Uh... Cupa? What are you doing?" She took off her hoodie to reveal, not a shirt underneath, but a green bra. "Cupa? What are you doing?" Steve repeated.

_"I'm burning up so I thought I would shed some layers." She simply replied.

_"Cupa, keep your clothes on please; it's making me uncomfortable."

_"Why should I; you never have a shirt on"

_"Thats because it got torn up and is no longer wearable! Plus I'm a guy!"

_"What does having a deep voice have anything to do with it?" Cupa asked as she unclasped her bra.

_"You know how Magister hasn't taught you about sex yet?"

_"Yeah," The bra fell and Steve turned around.

_"Cupa, put your bra back on or you're going to regret this when you find out what sex is!"

_"Okay, fine! If it means that much to you!" Cupa shrugged as she put her bra back on.

_"Yes it does, thank you!" Steve said, turning back around, "Maybe we can make a more modest top for you so you don't have to wear that hoodie in hotter environment."

_"Can we rest a little before we map stuff out?"

_"Yea, it might be a good idea." Steve laid down on his back and Cupa put her head on his chest.

_They both made the mistake of closing their eyes.

\- [ ] -

_Cupa was the first to notice the temperature change. It was a little groggy and much cooler than before. She began feeling around for her hoodie but couldn't find it because it was dark. _Dark?_ She suddenly realized, jumping up just in time to see the last of the sun slip below the horizon.

_"Steve! Wake up!" she yelled, shaking him awake.

_"Huh?" Steve murmured opening his eyes "Shit!" He shouted and shot up. "What happened?"

_"We fell asleep together, as in, at the same time" She said zipping up her hoodie.

_"Dammit! And we have no light because Magister is at home!"

_"Afraid so"

_"How did you survive your nights alone?"

_"I turned into a creeper and waited it out. You?"

_"I ran"

_"Well we can see if the moon comes out tonight, and we have a sword so it shouldn't be a problem."

_"But if the moon doesn't come out..."

_"We're screwed"

_Steve was silent a moment before finally sighing and walking toward the forest, "Well, I'm just going to wait the night out in that really tall tree! Are you coming?"

_"Wait Steve, how about this?" Cupa began her suggestion, "I go in the forest as a creeper, scout it out a little and then come back and show you a safe route."

_"I don't even care about mapping anymore, lets go!"

_Cupa scouted ahead of Steve alone for a little while, there didn't seem to be any monsters, so she gave him the ok to walk next to her. They walked side by side in silence. _It's amazing how much he's changing_ , Cupa thought, _before he was a coward by default, now he's more confident and fine with taking on a monster or two._

_"Cupa?" Steve asked.

_"Yes?" Cupa whispered.

_"Stop walking; I hear something."

_They stopped walking and listened. A moan was heard to their right and a spider slurp behind them.

_"Fight or Flight?" He asked

_"Flight" Cupa responded, "Just because we only hear two, doesn't mean there's a lot more."

_"Lets go!" Steve took off deeper into the jungle.

_Cupa turned into human form and chased after him. He was hacking at the underbrush as he was going, clearing a path for her, but she was still running out of breath keeping up with him. Steve suddenly stopped dead, and she ran into him.

_"Am I hallucinating, or do you see that light too?"

_Cupa looked over his shoulders and sure enough, she saw a faint orange glow. "It's probably just surface lava," she said.

_"But, it could be someone's house!"

_"You're too optimistic!"

_"Well, I'm tired of being pessimistic!" He shot back and ran toward the light.

_They broke through the trees and into a lit clearing. There was a tent and a man sitting on a log sharpening a metal sword with a rock. He was pretty old and could've easily been 50 or 60; he had deep wrinkles, a dark scar under his eye, and a long grey beard. That having been said, he was very muscular, with broad shoulders and probably pretty tall. He looked at Steve, looked at his sword, looked back at Steve, and then behind Steve where Cupa was hiding, before finally saying "Ya know, I thought I 'eard someone runnin' around out there."

_Steve stood forward. "My name's Steve, and this is Cupa." she waved her hand a little before backing off again.

_ _Why was I so scared of this guy? He's a human after all!_ Cupa thought, "O-our house is about two miles that way and we were trying to get back."

_"What the fuck ar yer doing out 'ere then?"

_"We overslept..." Steve explained, sighing.

_"Ah, and the two of yer live together then?"

_"Uhh, yeah, two is much safer than one. You know? Safety in Numbers?"

_"So this is the 'two kids meet in a hostile world and have sex' kind of story?"

_Steve blushed and continued, "NO, I've only known her for a little over a week."

_"That don't matter in this world!"

_"Steve?" Cupa whispered from behind him, "I didn't know sex is something that you can have?"

_"Not now Cupa..." He whispered back then addressed the man "I'm still a decent person though!"

_"Oh really?"

_"I'm a Christian!"

_The man burst out laughing. "I know plenty of lustful Christians! That don't got nothin' to do with it!"

_"I have moral standards for myself and I keep to them!" Steve declared

_"Morals? In hell?"

_They stared at each other for a little while before he said, "I like ya boy, ya got quite the character!" Then he chuckled. "I'm a traveller; the night is no threat to me! I'm a blacksmith; I forge the tools that keep me alive! I'm a man; I know how difficult it is out here! My name is Beard!" He put out his hand and Steve shook it.

_Cupa felt a giggle leave her, and she hid behind Steve again, embarrassed.

_"What?" Beard asked

_"Nothing," she said, "Your name's fitting!"

_"Alright, we're heading home now, it would be nice if you came along, but you don't have to." Steve offered him.

_"To be honest, I'm bored out of my mind just fighting zombies because I can; I'll come with ya! Give me a moment to pack up my things"

_"Alright!" Steve said as Beard disappeared into the tent.

_"Steve," Cupa whispered to him, "Why are we inviting him to come along?"

_"Let's face it Cupa; we need help."

_"But I just have a bad feeling about him..."

_"I don't, I believe he's a really good guy that knows the land well and we can learn from him. You'll need to listen to him closely if you want to live as a human."

_"I know but, it's like this sixth sense..."

_"Cupa," he gave her a hug and Cupa noticed how much shorter she was compared to him "It'll be fine," he whispered into her ear, reassuring her, "I promise."

_Cupa noticed his embrace caused her stomach to feel fluttery and her mind to be put at ease. _Why did he have this effect on me? Was it some power humans had?_ She hugged him back because of the warmth and confidence he gave her, but that's when he broke away.

_Beard hobbled out of the tent. "Ok, 'ere is to show that I'm not gonna kill you. I got two presents." He handed them out, "Steel Dagger for the lady, and new shoes to run in for the gent!"

_"Wow, thanks!" Cupa said, thankful she didn't have to rely on Steve for their only weapon.

_"Steel? Not Iron?" asked Steve

_"Yep! It's the strongest metal I got, and doesn't rust as fast as a pig eats shit like iron does!"

_"What is the alloy for Steel?"

_Beard started rolling up his tent, "Iron and Carbon!"

_"How'd you get your hands on some carbon?" Steve was asking questions not in a quizzical way, but in a curious one.

_"Pig Iron!"

_"Cool?" Steve said, not fully understanding him.

_Beard stuffed the tent up into an enormous backpack which he threw over his shoulders. "Let's move out!" He ordered, handing Steve the kerosene lamp that was lighting up the site.

_They continued the hike down the mountain in silence, listening to the slightest moan or hiss. It was a much longer trek down the mountain than up. We were just about to cross into the forest biome when Steve stopped and whispered, "Creeper"

_"Where?" Beard eagerly said.

_"Downhill being 12 o'clock; 10:30." he pointed

_"Ahh, I see the bastard, watch this!" Beard took out a bow and a single arrow. He rested his backpack next to him and strung the bow. Pulling back, he said "Good riddance, vermin of the earth!" And let go.

_The arrow sailed through the air and hit the creeper in the eye, killing it instantly.

_"Okay resume hike!" He said and got his backpack on. Steve and Cupa followed in silence.

_Even after the long nap, Cupa was tired; She wasn't used to all this walking and couldn't wait for the hammock at home, or even better, resting on Steve's chest again.

_After another mile, they were close enough to the house that they could see the blue glow. Unfortunately, between them and the house was a huge pack of zombies.

_"I count Fifteen…" Steve sighed, "Cupa, I think you're going to need to explode."

_"Say what?" asked Beard

_"Okay, Steve." Cupa paused a moment before turning to Beard, "Beard, this might be hard for you; don't kill me please." She focused her energy into transformation and turned into a creeper. Looking back at Beard again, he stood in shock, his hands shaking. Cupa ignored him and walked over to the zombies. They all walked toward her, thinking she had something to say. Instead she exploded, instantly killing them all before turning back into a human and climbing out of the crater she made.

_"F-f-fucking f-f-freak!"

_"I'm not a freak! I just have some abilities!"

_"Get away from me you demon!"

_"Demon..." Cupa murmured, _Why do first impressions never go well?_

_"Beard! That's enough!" Steve shouted walking over to comfort me.

_"It's not enough! She's the fucking enemy!"

_"Then why did the enemy just help us? Huh?"

_"..." Beard thought about this for a moment, looking back and forth between Cupa and the crater. Finally giving up, he stated, "I'm going inside to make a coffee."

_"Ok..." Steve said.

_"Anything else I should know about?" Beard asked

_"I don't think so," Cupa said, paying more attention to Steve than him.

_"Thank God," He dragged his feet inside and closed the door. Not three seconds later they heard a yell from inside, "Oh dear God! What the fuck is _that_?"

_" _That_ " Steve said, "would be Magister!"


	5. The Subconscious Plain

Hello readers, I am the author, **Vinarth!** Thank you, **Steve's Stalker** , for your review, especially your notice of how the characters fit together. Apologies for the short chapter after the brief hiatus, as I have just come back from a mission trip. Please review if you want to see more updates!

 **Chapter 5 - The Subconscious Plain**

_"W-w-who are ya?" Beard stuttered.

_"I am Magister!"

_All three of them were on the grassy plain Steve was taken once before. Magister towered over them in his owl form.

_"What are ya then?"

_"I am a Stone of Minecraft."

_"A Stone?"

_"Yes"

_"And ya teach?"

_"Yes"

_"Well, where the 'ell are we?"

_"What I like to call the Subconscious Plain."

_"Subconscious?"

_"Yes, you are technically dreaming right now"

_"What?"

_"Don't worry, nothing is happening to your bodies while we talk."

_"What kind of being must you be, what kind of powers do you posses that allow ya to control someone's consciousness?"

_"You want to know my powers?"

_"Yea! Lay them all out right now!"

_"Number 1: I can keep you in the subconscious plain indefinitely; so please stop being rude to me. Understood?"

_"Understood..." Beard finally stood down

_"I don't think you deserve the right to know of my powers"

_"Magister," Steve said, attempting to calm him, "I think it would be beneficial to us all if you shared."

_Magister sighed deeply, "Fine, I don't think the lot of you are going to die anytime soon so here it goes. Number 2: I can never forget anything. Everything I learn I can recall, everything I see stays with me; this has made me very wise. Number 3: I can modify your brain directly, instantly teaching you new abilities. However, it requires massive amounts of energy and I've only done it with Cupa before, and rarely at that. Number 4: I can give semi-sentient monsters a brain and a human body."

_"What?" Steve now saw the connection between Cupa and Magister

_"I've only successfully done it once, with Cupa, and treated her like my daughter, taught her what it was to be human, and hoped one day she might have a companion."

_"Wow, that clears things up then," Steve looked at Cupa.

_"How'd ya get here?" asked Beard

_"You request to know of my origins?"

_"Same difference."

_"I cannot tell you that now."

_"Why not?"

_"You three have a city to found!"

_"Huh?" they said together

_"You're not the only ones that are brought to this world; you're just the 5% that survive!"

_"Killed by monsters?" Steve asked

_"Some commit suicide, but for the most part, yes."

_"While we're getting answers, how do monsters spawn?" Steve asked.

_"Spawn? What do you mean spawn?"

_"They pop out of nowhere as the last bit of sun slips below the horizon!"

_"The monsters are real biological creatures"

_"Huh?"

_"They are made of cells that grow exponentially; these cells can live on very low nutrition. But, because of this growth and lack of nutrition they only have a lifespan of of about a week. At the end of that cycle, the head will pop off; asexual reproduction."

_"Eww" squealed Cupa "Is that my monster form?"

_"No, your cells are stable."

_"Thank god!"

_"But I've be'eaded 'undreds of monsters and they disappear within the hour!" Beard pointed out.

_"It was premature reproduction and the organism could not live. The cells also decay at an accelerated rate, leaving no trace the following day."

_"Wow... Any exceptions?" Steve asked

_"Yes, slimes and endermen. I'll tell you about them later, you have a city to build!"

_"I'm still not getting the city part..."

_"Over the next few days, the nearest spawn point will be ending its yearly cycle where it will send out a person every 12 hours. Go there, and have those people join your group."

_"One last question." Steve said, "Where do the monsters come from if they don't spawn?"

_"Haven't you noticed the excessive amounts of caves? They live in them! Now carry out your mission!"

_"Will do Teacher!" Replied Cupa

_"Whatever you say, Magister!" Said Steve

_"Yea, I guess I'll help" grumbled Beard

_"Now re-enter the world! (Except if I may have a word with beard?)"

_"What?" Beard said as the other two vanished from the subconscious plain.

_"Why do you resist me?"

_"Frankly, I don't trust ya!"

_"Is it because I'm new and unknown to you?"

_"That's a big part of it."

_"What's the rest of it?"

_"Does it matter?"

_"No, just curious. I think you're afraid of change."

_"What?"

_"People surviving more than a week, Creeper girl, talking stone; it's all out of the norm for you!"

_"Yeah."

_"You have to face that things are about to change, and do your best to contribute to the new city!"

_"What's in it fo' me?"

_"An end to your boring lifestyle."

_"Hey! I happen ta like my borin' lifestyle!"

_"Anyway, you're a blacksmith right?"

_"Yeah"

_"Here's a deal; I'll explain to you the difference between forged and casted iron, how to make stainless steel, and where to mine for diamonds, if you give me 3 lbs of gold."

_"What the 'ell ya want 3 lbs of gold for?"

_"Nutrition"

_"Huh?"

_"I'll explain later, deal?"

_"I already know about stainless steel..."

_"Deal?"

_"It's a deal"

_"Friends?"

_Beard paused a moment "Sure, I've got nothing against ya, unless it gets me killed"


	6. Steel and Light

Hello readers, I am the dragon, **Vinarth!** Thank you, **CaptainClipy** and **Pormetheus** , for continuing to leave eager reviews, reading them is what motivates me to write :) Everyone is welcome to PM me if they have any questions for me.

 **Part II**

 **Chapter 6 - Steel and Light**

_"There it is" shouted Cupa, pointing to a grassy clearing.

_"It doesn't seem real" Steve said, feeling a little weak in the knees.

_"Huh, I've seen plenty on my journeys!" huffed Beard.

_"How many have you seen active?" Steve retorted.

_"None..."

_"Come on you guys! Lets go!" Cupa said before sliding down the cliff they were looking at it from. Steve shrugged and followed her, while Beard took a safer way down.

_It didn't seem to fit the Minecraft theme; but it was amazing. A huge disk with a 30 meter diameter was spinning slowly about a meter off the ground. It was made of an unknown silvery metal, well polished. A thick, white beam of light shot out from both poles. They moved closer, mesmerized by its warmth and light. Steve stopped, reflecting, _This is where I entered the world, where my adventure began, where our city will begin._

_They sat down in front of it, waiting for something to happen. "Hey Teacher, is it working?" Cupa asked.

_"Shhh! Just be patient!" Magister assured her.

_The group sat there in silence for twenty minutes when Steve noticed its spinning had nearly doubled speed. "Cupa…" Steve said to her, "You might want to stop picking at the grass and back up a little"

_/SCANNING SUBJECT

_Cupa screamed, startled by the sudden voice. "Who said that?" She said, hiding behind Steve.

_"The disk silly! It's just a computer's voice!"

_"Hmph! If you're going to talk to me like a kid, I'm just going to hide behind Beard instead!"

_"Cupa… I didn't mean—"

_/REORGANIZING ORGANIC MATTER

_"Huh." Beard looked up at the disk. The white light that came from it had turned blue. "Eh? What are ya…?" Beard looked behind him at Cupa, clinging onto his backpack. "Whatever, I don't give a shit…"

_/STARTING REANIMATION AT COORDINATES x(-15000) y(63) z(2435000) SPAWN IN 30 SECONDS

_"Sooo… It's preparing for a new spawn now?" Steve asked.

_"Correct, expect this every 12 hours for the next week or so," Magister stated.

_"So 14 new people?"

_"More or less, probably more."

_"Safety in Numbers."

_"Yes, but also more people you're responsible for."

_/INITIATING CONSCIENCE

_/SUBJECT 2004512 IS READY

_/SPAWNING SEQUENCE COMPLETE

_/SPAWNING SUBJECT IN 10 SECONDS

_The disk doubled speed again, sending a wind around them. The color of the light changed to golden. "Is it weird that I'm excited?!" shouted Steve above the wind.

_/5...4...3...2...1

_The disk shot up into the air. There was a blinding flash of light and a concussive bang. The wind stopped, the beam's light returned to white. Under the disk, inside its beam, a man in a lab coat was on the ground unconscious. He looked a little over twenty, wore glasses, and was probably 6' 6" or taller. As they cautiously approached him, he woke up.

_"COUGH COUGH COUGH," He staggered to his feet, "What happened?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat. Looking around, he was clearly startled at his new surroundings. Spotting us he walked out from under the shadow of the disk, "Ah, yes! Hello! Excuse me, but um… do you know where am I?"

_"Minecraft," Steve replied, sizing him up, "Who are you?"

_"I am Ryan Weather. I'm with a new astronomy research team on a project called Obsertech. We're funded by NASA." He proudly stated before quickly adding, "It's cool. W-where did you say I was? How did I get here?"

_"Minecraft,' Steve repeated.

_"Never heard of it," Ryan said, "Look, am I still at least still in North America?"

_"What?" Steve said, "You haven't heard of Minecraft?"

_"N-n-no?"

_"The super popular sandbox game developed by Mojang?"

_He shook his head

_"How old are you?"

_"Well!" Beard interrupted, "I'll go to sleep now so I can take the night shift." He and Cupa got his tent out and started to pitch it.

_"My name is Ryan. I am 22. I have never heard of Minecraft. Where am I?"

_"Okay, where to begin…" Steve sighed, rubbing his temples, "First off, Minecraft is where you are, I've told you twice already! Yes, Minecraft is also the name of a videogame. No, we are not trapped inside the videogame. No, we are not on Earth. At night, the monsters crawl out of their caves to eat you. If you don't have a weapon, you better run because there's no chance of survival.

_"Uh..but..uh..you survived."

_"I merely had a strong Will to Survive, and luck on my side. Beard is the only one that can truly make it on his own, we banded together with Magister who created Cupa and-"

_"WOAH!" Beard jumped up, "are we just gonna tell 'im about the rock without thinkin it through first?"

_"We have to brief everyone if we have a chance of surviving."

_"I don't know, somethin' tells me that if everyone knew about Magister, it could turn into a power struggle. You can tell 'im, but consider consulting with me first next time we brief—"

_"Ryan! Step forth! I will tell you who I am!"

_"Oh my god! Really?!" Cupa dropped the tent and opened up the backpack Magister was hiding in and took him out. "Does your introduction always have to sound like you're a king or a god?"

_"I am omniscient!"

_"Oh please! Just give him the briefing while we set up camp." Cupa handed Magister to Ryan, who was on his way to being terrified of this new world. "Steve. Help me set up the tents."

_"Say it nicely," Steve taunted.

_"If this is your new idea of flirting, you can shut up."

_"Yeah whatever kiddo."

_"I. am. not. a. kid!" Cupa dropped the tent poles she was holding and glared at Steve, her face becoming a little red.

_"Well you sure look like one when you're angry!" Steve laughed from the other side of the tent. Cupa remained silent, clenching her fists. "Sorry, kiddo, did I take it too far?"

_"Steve... I'm gonna kill you!" Cupa shouted, lunging for him.

_"You're going to have to catch me first!" Steve laughed, running for the open field. Turning around, he figured it wouldn't take much to outrun her. To his surprise however, she was right on his tail. "Holy shit you're— OOF" Cupa tackled him to the ground, sending them both rolling down a small depression. They came to a stop out of sight from the others, with Steve on his back. Finally realizing that he took two steps too far, he tried to apologizing, "Cupa! I'm sorry! I didn't know it was getting to you that much!" Steve desperately shouted, blocking punches.

_"Steve you idiot! Let me hit you!" Cupa said, struggling to get a blow in.

_Managing to catch both of her fists, Steve finally had a chance to speak, "Cupa, I'm sorry! I was just teasing you, ok? If I let your wrists go, will you promise you'll get off of me?"

_She tried one last time to rip them free, but his grip was too tight. "Finne," she sighed, giving in, "will you let me go?"

_"Yes, but for future reference, this is how you get out of a wrist grab." Steve let go of one of her arms so that he could show her how to twist her arms out of his grip. "Make sense?"

_"Yes."

_"Okay, can you get up now?"

_"First…" Cupa quietly said before nailing him in the face.

_"AAAAaaah!" Steve shouted, throwing her off of him, "What the hell Cupa?"

_"You deserved that!"

_"No one deserves a sucker punch!"

_"Oh come on, it's not that bad…" Cupa said, a little less sure of herself.

_"You don't think so?" Steve turned toward her, and she could she see blood starting to drip out of his eyebrow, "What did you manage to cut me with? Your fingernail?"

_"Um, I don't know! Dammit, I'm sorry!"

_"Well, don't just sit there, do you have something to soak up the blood?"

_"Of course not!"

_"Well then go get it from Beard!"

_"I'm not asking Beard…"

_"Why not?"

_"What if he yells at me?"

_"Oh come on Cupa! Beard will automatically assume I was the instigator!"

_"I'm not doing it Steve!"

_"Yes you are."

_"No, I think I have another idea."

_"Cupa! Just go get… what are you doing?" Steve asked as Cupa apparently began kissing his face.

_"I'm licking it up, what do you think I'm doing?"

_Steve waited patiently as she caught a drip that had run down his chin, "I think this is more awkward than if you just went to Beard…"

_"I'm starting to think that too."

_They both blushed, making accidental eye contact. Steve silently cursed for letting himself get aroused. "So… how's it coming along?" Steve said, turning toward her. Cupa was caught off-guard and their lips brushed against each other.

_"S-s-sorry!" Cupa stuttered, unsure of what just happened. As embarrassing as it was, neither one pushed away.

_"No, that was my fault for turning my head."

_"I-I didn't mean to kiss you like that!"

_"Well that wasn't exactly a kiss," Steve said.

_"Wait? That wasn't?"

_"You seriously don't know what a kiss is?"

_"I swear if you call me a kid again…"

_"Nonono it's not your fault that Magister hasn't taught you certain things. Just because you don't know something doesn't make you a kid."

_"That's what I've been trying to tell you…"

_"Here, I'll make it up to you. First, is my face pretty much clean?"

_"Almost,"

_"That's good enough. Okay, I'll let me teach you about kisses to make the whole 'kid' thing up to you. Deal?"

_"Deal!"

_"Okay, kisses are usually shared between two people of opposite gender in a relationship. They communicate a level of... intimacy that's only shared with that person. They can be used to relieve sexual tension, apologize, say hello, wish goodbye, or simply share your love for the other person. They can be brief and clean, or long and sloppy. It's... basically just a way to show love."

_"So you only kiss people that you love?"

_"Well... Yes," Steve decided to not complicate things.

_"Oh! Well it's a good thing I love you then!" Cupa giggled, "That makes it okay, right?"

_"Yeah... but we have to be in a relationship first,"

_"Oh, you mean like boyfriend/girlfriend?"

_"Yeah, so I guess now would be a good time to ask then-"

_"Um, Steve? I'm sorry, I really am, but Magister told me I'm not allowed to date anyone until I was 16,"

_"Oh..." Steve was taken back a little, "ok, that's fine I guess," he said, swallowing his pride. "Should we go back to the group then?"

_"Probably... but, can I have a kiss first?"

_"Sure," Steve smiled, leaning in. The moment his lips met hers, it was obvious she had no idea what to do. "Hey, Cupa, you probably want to press your lips a little, rather than leaving them limp."

_"It's not my fault I have no-"

_"Cupa, I'm offering advice, not mocking you for not knowing."

_"O-okay"

_"Close your eyes," Steve tried again, holding the back of her head with his hand. This time was much improved, and Cupa's subtle sigh let him know he nailed it. He broke away, unsure of what was too much for a first kiss.

_"W-why'd you stop?" Cupa said.

_"I uh..."

_"Kiss me again!" This time Cupa was the one who leaned in, catching Steve off guard. After a few seconds, they started to get a rhythm going, kissing more deeply and passionately.

_Gaining confidence, Steve shifted down to her lower lip and gave it a little nibble.

_"STEVE! CUPA! Where did you knuckleheads run off too?" They suddenly heard Beard call from the spawn point.

_"Shit!" Cupa shouted, pushing Steve away and brushing herself off.

_"Wait, Cupa, I'm sorry about the whole "kiddo" thing! I don't want it to keep you from loving me."

_"Apology accepted," she said, helping him up, "now lets go!"

\- [ ] -

_There were two tents, one for Cupa, and one for Ryan and Steve. As much as he wanted to be in the same tent as her, Steve recognized that she needed her privacy. Beard woke up right before sundown, and stood watch that night. It wasn't long before there were zombie moans outside.

_"W-w-what was that?" Ryan stuttered.

_Steve waited for the twang of the bow and the death sound before answering, "Zombies."

_"Z-zombies? Don't be ridiculous!"

_"Want to go out there and find out yourself?"

_"N-no."

_"Is it because you're scared?" Steve challenged.

_"N-no!"

_"Prove it!"

_"Ok," Ryan slowly got up and started to open the tent flap before Steve yanked him back down.

_"Are you crazy?" Steve wondered aloud, "don't go out there while Beard's killing everything that moves!"

_"I may be timid, b-but I don't believe you."

_"Okay then; Hey, Beard! Are there any monsters out there?!"

_They waited for a few seconds before something white flew through a hole in their tent and landed in Ryan's lap. He turned it over and saw it was a skeleton's skull with a bit of the spine still attached and an arrow through the forehead. Steve looked over to and found a priceless, horrific expression on his face. He started laughing before Ryan screamed like a girl at the top of his lungs.

_"God DAMMIT Ryan!" Beard yelled back, "Now they're all going to come this way!"

_"Hey, Cupa did that wake you up?" Steve asked, barely able to contain his laughter.

_He heard a tired and muffled "go to hell" in her direction before lying down. Well, at least she's alive, he thought. Hearing a rapid breathing in the tent and knowing what it was, Steve took the skull off Ryan's lap and threw it back out of the hole, closing it up with a pin.

_"Plumapple?" Steve offered, trying to calm him down.

_Ryan said nothing, slowly taking it from him. As he ate it, the color returned to his face.

_"Sorry for the scare. With Beard out there, you have nothing to worry about."

_"Ya put too much faith in me!" Beard said from outside.

_"Is that a bad thing?" Steve asked.

_"Well..." He was thinking about it when he was cut off.

_"I'm going to sleep!" Steve announced, "If you do get sleep, Ryan, don't elbow me."

_"Goodnight!" Beard said.

_"Goodbye!" Ryan replied.

\- [ ] -

_Dawn. Sunrise. As beautiful as a sunset is, there was something about how the sun rose in Minecraft that made it special.

_The spawn point started up again about an hour later. A hyper 12 year old named Drew came out, eager for adventure. Although Steve wanted to tell Drew about Magister, Beard strongly advised against it, so Magister was kept hidden.

_There was friction between Ryan and Drew almost immediately. Ryan was a well established man, thinking everything through twice. He had definitions of what was good and was was obnoxious, and although he could get caught off guard easily, he knew himself. Drew, on the other hand, plunged head first into all kinds of trouble without thinking anything through. He had no sense of purpose, since he was just a kid, he didn't need one. And when in an argument, he would resort to Yo Mama jokes.

_On the bright side, Drew knew all about Minecraft and that he should play it safe. Much to everyone's relief, Beard volunteered to look after him and maybe even make him a blacksmith's apprentice.

_Steve noticed that Cupa stayed in her tent all morning. When he peeked in to check on her, she yelled at him to go away. _What's up the the dramatic mood change?_ Steve wondered, _That's unusual, even for her._ Sighing, he returned to chopping down trees to make some decent houses.

_On one of his breaks, he opened up Beard's backpack to see Magister, "Hey Magister?" He asked, wondering if the stone was even awake.

_"YO! Waz up ma bro?"

_"Excuse me?"

_"Sorry, *ahem*, what can I do for you?"

_"Cupa's been acting down all morning, did you have anything to do with it?"

_"I may have"

_"Have you taught her anything new lately?"

_"As a matter of fact, after I told her that people are known to kill each other, she did seem sort of crestfallen."

_"She didn't know this?"

_"Nope"

_Steve thought for a moment, "My advice to you; take World War II off the list and give her sex ed."

_"You giving me advice?"

_"You better believe it; because you may be her creator, but I just happen to like her. She's 15 and still doesn't know the difference between guys and girls, has an underdeveloped sense of privacy, and has no clue what sex is. Are you going to explain it soon or I going to tell her myself?"

_"Don't! You won't be a good teacher!"

_"I'll be better than you!"

_"I have my reasons!"

_"And I respect them," Steve explained, "Listen; I love how innocent Cupa is too, but we can't protect her forever with all of these men coming out of the spawn point!"

_"I'll tell her in a month or so,"

_"But-"

_"STEVE!" shouted Beard, "Get your lazy ass over here and help us with this stubborn oak!"

_"I'm coming over!" he called, picking up his ax, "I'm not done with you," He threatened, running over to the tree they were working on.

_Right before dinner, Mike popped out of the spawner. Mike was EXACTLY like Drew and they were friends almost instantly. But night was only a few hours away.

_Ryan spent his day, rather than working, identifying kinds of plants he knew of and recording the new ones. "I wrote it all down on these blank papers Beard had," He explained, "According to my findings, 70 percent of the plant life here is exclusive to this world, strange crosses of random plants on Earth. B-but I'm not sure because I'm just a simple astronomer."

_"Well you must know more than all of us combined, because this is the only plant we've found useful. Steve pointed to a poorly drawn plumapple."

_"Yeah, those do taste good, don't they?" Ryan chuckled.

_They went to bed in the same fashion as the night before; with Beard as the watchman, but with the new addition.

_"Hey watch it!" Drew poked Mike

_"Move over!" Mike poked back. It wasn't long before an all out brawl was taking place in the boys' tent. Ryan sighed, covering his ears with his pillow.

_"I'm going outside to sleep," Steve said, leaving the tent. To his surprise, Ryan came along. Walking over to the campfire, Steeve found Cupa there, talking to Beard.

_"Should I comment on her not letting us know we could be using er tent?" Ryan asked.

_"Nono, she's been in a bad mood all day," Steve explained. "Hey Cupa, nice night!" Steve tested how she was feeling.

_"Yeah! The air is fresh, the moon is out, and we've only seen two zombies!"

_"Well that's lucky" He was surprised at how fast she recovered. "So… are you okay from earlier today?"

_"Yeah, it's just that, I didn't think that much sin was-"

_Her sentence was interrupted by Ryan furiously flipping through pages in a book of constellations. He soon closed it and opened up another book of star charts. "Umm.. Guys?" he started and flipped to the index before going to another page and back to the first. "You may not believe this, but it's true!"

_"What's it?" Beard huffed

_"These constellations match up perfectly with the ones on Earth."

_"So?"

_"We never left Earth, Minecraft is Earth in another universe or something. I'm sure of it! In fact, if I just-"

_Ryan was in turn cut of by the snap of a twig, and the four of us instinctively whipped around to find three endermen.

_"Eeep!" Cupa was silenced

_"..." Steve was speechless

_"FUCK!" Beard was Beard

_"According to given context, these black figures are monsters that I should run away from, correct?" Ryan observed

_Beard whipped out a heavy iron sword and stood tall, but his 6' was no match for the endermens' 7'-9', and they quickly sized him down.

_Steve grabbed his bronze sword and stood next to Beard. Crap he thought this is how people die Cupa stood next to Steve and Ryan behind Beard.

_The endermen opened their jaws and purple particles began to flood the fields.

_"Ryan" Beard whispered "sneak back to Drew and Mike; tell them to stay in the tent and whatever happens, they keep their eyes shut."

_"A-a-anything t-to get away f-from here" He slowly backed up.

_It was the three survivors versus the thee monsters.

_*Vip* the biggest one in the center disappeared and the survivors stood back to back waiting for him. *vip* the shortest one teleported to the edge of the clearing, as if to watch. *vip* The last one teleported out.

_"Beard?" Steve spoke.

_"Yo?" He breathed, concentrating on the field.

_"How many endermen have you killed?"

_"In the thirty years I've been stuck in minecraft, two."

_"We're going to die?"

_"Not if we do this right."

_*Pom* *Pom* They both teleported in front of Beard. He swung for the head of the biggest one, but it teleported out. The other enderman swung at Beard and hit him hard in the jaw. Much to the enderman's surprise, Beard seemed unfazed and drove his sword at him, managing to break its tough skin before it teleported out.

_*Pom* the biggest reappeared in front of Steve. He ducked to dodge its attack and swung the sword at its legs. There was a loud crack as the enderman crumpled and staggered before teleporting out; Steve had broken its left leg with the weight of his sword.

_Looking over to Beard, he could see how much he was struggling. Beard swung at the enderman's neck, causing it to teleport out. It reappeared in the same spot when his swing had passed and knocked the sword out of his hands. Immediately ready with a counterattack, Beard swung for the enderman's jaw. He managed to hurt the enderman, but his fist let out a crack in the process. Now aggravated, the enderman grabbed Beard by the neck and amazingly threw him up against the tree. While it was distracted, Steve gave Cupa a boost, allowing her to cut off its head.

_It landed on the ground with a thud at the same time Beard did. Steve gave him some space to gasp in air as Cupa scurried off. "Are you ok?" Steve asked, helping him up.

_"I've been better," Beard smiled, letting Steve know he was alright. They heard a loud bang a distance away, and found that Cupa had disintegrated the final enderman in an enormous explosion.

_"So that leaves only the one with a broken leg?" Cupa asked as they approached her.

_"I think so. Ryan! Did ya see where the last enderman went to?" Beard shouted.

_"Of course! I watched the whole fight! He's at the bottom of the cliff!"

_"Let's finish him!"

_"Wait!" Magister's voice suddenly interjected out of nowhere, "Take me with you!"

_"Why?"

_"Further investigation"

_"Huh?"

_"Beard just go with it!" Steve interrupted and picked up Magister and began carrying him over to the enderman. Getting closer, he started to glow more and more blue. "Magister are you okay?"

_"The subject is compatible; I do not have enough energy."

_"Energy?" Beard said.

_"I need to consume matter to convert it into energy. Beard, can I consume your iron sword?"

_"Hell no! Take Steve's bronze sword!"

_"This sword is special!"

_"Mine is too!"

_"Shut up both of you!" Cupa said out of nowhere. Both of Steve and Beard jumped; not noticing Cupa was behind them the entire time. "Magister can you consume any type of matter?"

_"Absolutely" he said proudly.

_"Then consume some dirt!" She said and threw him up against the cliff wall. Ryan and Steve were both shocked with her new aggression. Magister sunk in and disintegrated a good portion of the mountainside, causing it to crumble into a rockslide. Terrified, the enderman limped up and teleported away from them.

_"Not so fast!" shouted Magister. He turned to sand and flew up the mountainside to where the enderman had teleported to. There was a bright flash of blue light and by the time they had climbed up the cliff, the enderman was gone and a beautiful girl was in her place.

_"Ah! Just as I thought! See? See? Compatible!"

_We all gaped in awe. I was the first one to speak. "If I had known this is what you were going to do with your energy, I would've given you my bronze sword."

_"No need to now! I shall call her First Queen of Darkness: Susan!"

_"That's terrible!" Cupa said.

_"How about Enderwoman?"

_"Just as bad?"

_"Why? Because she sounds like a superhero?"

_"How about Andr?" Ryan was suddenly next to the new monster girl.

_"Hey! Ryan! When'd you get here?" Steve cheered.

_"I saw the blue explosion and hurried over"

_"That's a much better name." Cupa agreed.

_"I made her! I shall call her what I want!" Magister huffed. Everyone looked at him with the are you kidding me look before he finally said "Okay! Fine! Her name is Andr! Lets go home before the brats venture out of their tents."

_"Amen to that!" said Ryan as he scooped up Andr and began carrying her down the mountainside.

_After getting down from the cliff that wasn't really a cliff anymore, Steve whispered to Cupa, "Do you want me to carry you like that too?" He received an elbow to the side, but managed to get a smile and a blush out of her. _God I hope you love me as much as I love you,_ Steve thought.


	7. Friends and Rivals

Hello readers, I am the dragon, **Vinarth!** This chapter introduces the final character essential to the story, John. Thank you for your reviews, it's good to hear you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it. This addition comes a more than little late, but better late than never. As always, reviews and PMs are more than appreciated.

 **Chapter 7 - Friends and Rivals**

Earth

_The sirens were getting louder, closer. It was the fastest he'd ever run in his life, and his muscles were screaming at him to stop. But that wasn't the reason he was crying. He had just been betrayed by the gang he called family, and his girlfriend. _Why does everything bad always happen at night?_ He thought, disgusted at the light rain.

_"Shit!" He yelled, diving into an alleyway; one of the police cars had almost hit him. He could hear the officers pursuing him on foot. Turning though a slight bend, he could see the blue lights waiting for him on the other side.

_"Well I guess this is the end," flanked and out of options, he drew his gun and jumped out into the street. The sound was deafening and the pain unbearable; the police had set up a blockade, and when he jumped out, hundreds of bullets ripped through him.

_Everything went black.

\- [ ] -

_He felt his heart beat. _But that shouldn't be possible, I'm dead._ The pulse got louder, harder, faster. Then an explosion of colors and light, wind whipping, thunder cracking. Everything changed from white to golden and a concussive bang knocked him out once more.

\- [ ] -

_He woke, air flooding into his lungs. His heart was beating, and his skin was warm. He opened his eyes and looked around, observing he was laying on a field of short grass. He was still wearing his favorite leather jacket, as well as the rest of the clothes he had on when he died, except they weren't shredded with bullet holes. He felt an odd shifting under him, and realized he was laying in someone's lap, "Aaa-?" He tried to move, but found he couldn't. Looking up at the person that was holding him, his eyes met those of the cutest girl he had ever seen.

_"You ok?" She asked.

_He tried to talk, he really did, but all he got out was "ugh..."

_"Here, sit up," she offered.

_With a little bit of help, he did. The sun beat on him, contrasting from the cold, rainy streets of Boston he had just come from. Groaning at the soreness of his muscles, he managed to shed the jacket.

_"Woah! Dude! Nicely toned muscles! Finally I've got someone who can help us around here!" This voice came from a very large man probably in his 50s with a 12 inch beard.

_"Thanks" He said but choked on his own breath. The girl was closer to him now and was stroking his muscles, not with lust, but with curiosity. Regardless, it was turning him on so he stood up before it affected him further.

_"What's yer name?"

_"Uhh..." He couldn't believe he had to think about it "John" he said, "Nineteen."

_"Well John, I'm Beard! Ya best come with me, Ryan an I will give ya the briefin' about where we are, and what you can do ta help."

_"Ok..." He looked back at the girl; she was still staring at him, wide eyed. She had a green hoodie with a creeper face on the hood; it dropped quite a bit past her waist, so it was possible she had very-mini shorts on, but it was equally possible she had no pants on at all.

_"So I don't really know where ta begin," Beard said, "but I'll make this brief; you're in Minecraft."

_"Huh..."

_"Please tell me you know what Minecraft is."

_"I do."

_"We'll you're in it."

_"Ok, what's the situation and how can I help?"

_"Yer not bothered by the fact?"

_"At this point, I wouldn't care if I was stuck in a seven-year old girl's daydream since I'm supposed to be dead..."

_"Woah, dude!"

_"That's… not the situation for everyone?"

_"Not at all, most of us were just teleported here when we went to sleep. Except Ryan, he came here during a late night of experiments at his workplace."

_"Hmm..."

_"So are you willing to help our settlement?"

_"Absolutely."

_"Why so willing? Most people hate being ordered to work as soon as they get here."

_"It's just been a while since I've had friends."

_"Well, ya can count me as one of them, here comes Ryan now."

_Ryan did his best to bring John up to speed. John was the 10th person to come out of the spawner, making him the 13th inhabitant of the town. The loose "chain of command" worked something like this; Steve and Beard were in charge, Steve was a fighter, Beard the blacksmith. Drew and Mike were Steve's apprentices, while a little girl named Liz was Beard's apprentice. Ryan was the geek; he studied the organisms in the area and told us which ones were safe to eat, as well as mapping out the area and making sure everyone was safe. Cupa drove monsters away at night, as well as helped with construction. Andr was still "asleep" or whatever that meant. Brooke was the cook. Ricky and Kenko managed construction; the first cabin had just been built. A final member, named X because no one knew his real name, never said anything. He was pretty much worthless, head always down, hood always up. As soon as the cabin was built, he just hid in the corner all day and all night.

_Designated to manual labor, John was lead to Ricky and Kenko. "Hey," He said, trying to act as chill as he could, when they both looked confused, he awkwardly added, "I'm the new guy."

_"Oh yeah, that's right, the 12 hour cycle repeated about a half-hour ago," The Asian man said, wiping his right hand on his shorts so he could shake it. "I'm Kenko, and this is Ricky."

_"Sup," Ricky greeted, putting out his hand, "You might want to cut those jeans above the knees. It'll help with mobility and the heat."

_"I'll do it later."

_"Suit yourself."

_"So am I the only black guy here or something?"

_"Uhhh…" Kenko thought about it, "Yeah"

_"But that was a random question" said Ricky "here's an axe; let's get as much done as we can before sunset."

\- [ ] -

Woods

_"Both of you! Get down!" Steve ordered, pulling them behind a log

_"What is it?" Drew asked

_"A Bear?" Mike said

_"No, much much bigger, something I've only seen once before. Slowly lift your heads up."

_The three of them carefully looked over the log. The Great Wolf that Steve had been searching for was finally in front of him; a massive red-eyed beast probably the size of an elephant.

_"Holy Shit!" Drew whispered, "Are you kidding? That's way too dangerous!"

_"But we'll be able to feed the village for a month if we kill it." Steve persuaded them. They adjusted their helmets uneasily.

_"Maybe if Beard was here it would be different." Mike suggested.

_"Are you kidding? Beard would kill us for trying this! If we bring this thing back dead, we can finally prove to everyone else that we're a valuable part of the team."

_They thought about it before agreeing.

_"Alright, here's the plan: Mike; climb up that oak there, and when I clap once, yell as loud as you can to get the wolf going. Drew; you're attacking from behind, aiming for the legs, while I attack from the left, aiming for the heart. While we're fighting it, Mike will climb down and go for the neck. Understood?"

_"And if we die?" Drew asked

_"It's not like it's an enderman; we aren't going to die."

_"Are you kidding? There must be 2,000 kilos of raw muscle there!"

_"It's probably more like 3 or 4 tons."

_"Goodbye, Mike"

_"Oh, cut it out! Our village can't survive on plumapples alone, so let's kill this thing!"

\- [ ] -

_They followed it around for most of the afternoon, waiting for the perfect time to execute their plan. When everyone was in place, the wolf suddenly decided to lie down. Realizing that it was taking a nap, the plan changed. Both Mike and Drew would stay out of harm's way while Steve carefully crept up on it.

_The underbrush was light, so he hardly made a sound. As Steve closed in he thought about how cool it would be for him to haul the head of this monster back; everyone would finally respect his position of leadership. _Even if Beard scolds me, it would certainly impress Cupa_ , he reasoned. Finally standing next to the beast, he could feel the ground rumble with each breath it took. He put both hands on his bronze sword, holding it like a dagger above his head. Shouting with the force of a war cry, Steve drove the sword downward, piercing the beast's thick hide. It sunk in deep, all the way to the handle.

_Before he could pull it out, the wolf jumped up, howling in pain. Because he was still gripping the sword, Steve went soaring into the air when the beast jolted up. The wolf howled again and coughed up blood. Looking around, it quickly set its rage-filled eyes on Steve.

_"Aww SHIT! RUN!" Steve shouted to the boys as he took off. The adrenaline rushed through his veins and into his heart. That same fear that fueled him before was back, and was becoming more overwhelming as the wolf gained on him. Power turn to panic, and Steve tripped on a root. Steve turned over just in time to watch the wolf collapse in front of him. Its giant paw landed on Steve's chest, scratching him across it.

_Realizing how close he came to dying, Steve began to cry. _Why am I crying? I've come just as close to death and not felt this way. What's different now? What's wrong with me?_ Sniveling, Steve threw the paw off and stood up. His hair stood on end when he saw the wolf's eyes were wide open, locking its gaze on him. It seemed to be staring into Steve's soul, seeing through all secrets. At that moment, something quite extraordinary happened, causing Steve to abruptly stop his crying: it spoke.

_"I am not your enemy!" Its deep voice was hoarse and it coughed up more blood before continuing, "But my creator is..."

_Its final words. And Steve had no clue what they meant.

_"Steeeeeve!" He heard someone calling to him.

_"Over here!" He shouted back, quickly wiping away what was left of his tears.

_"Holy hell! You did it! Drew shouted, running toward him.

_"You bet your ass!" Steve smiled, inspecting his wound, "And without injuring anyone!" He laughed, realizing that it was only superficial.

\- [ ] -

Spawn

_"You killed a WHAT?"

_"An enormous wolf! If we have enough salt we can preserve it and we can have food or months to come!" Steve explained to Beard.

_ _I can't believe it. Steve did something stupid, AND no one died?_ "Ya know Steve, I'm impressed; I'll send the labor crew out right away to gather it up."

_ _This day just keeps getting better; I got a great worker, Steve didn't screw up, and no one is going to bed hungry! Wait 'till I tell Magister the good news!_ Beard grinned, heading over to Ryan's tent.

_"Hey Beard!" Ryan greeted, briefly turning to greet him.

_"What are ya doin' here?"  
_"It's my tent isn't it?"

_"Yeah..."

_"Ok then, Magister and I were just about to modify Andr's brain to bring her up to speed instantaneously."

_"That might be helpful" Beard said, noticing Andr laying on a mat.

_"That's the reason why Magister hasn't been active for the past few days; he been saving energy for this operation."

_"Really? I haven't missed 'im."

_"I can still hear you, dumbass!" Magister shouted from inside a metal cylinder.

_"I built this apparatus to boost his "equivalent energy" exchange by 100%. I'm not quite sure how it works, since I was only instructed on how to build it. It seems in this universe matter and energy are easily interchangeable…" Ryan's voice drifted off as he gave up attempting to explain.

_"I'm ready, and starting," Magister stated, and floated over to Andr's forehead, disappearing inside. They waited awkwardly for about sixty seconds before Andr's body suddenly glowed 'Magister Blue' and she woke up. Magister popped out and fell onto the floor.

_Beard picked up Magister and put him in his holder on the table, but by the time he turned back, Ryan and Andr were already staring at each other. Deeply.

_"Hi I'm Ryan" he squatted down to her level, "Welcome to the world, I guess!" He gave a gentle smile.

_"Umm..." Andr bit her lip, "Hello Ryan, I'm Andr... at least that's the name I was assigned by teacher. Where is he?"

_"Magister needs to sleep after such an energy-draining operation. I wouldn't count on him waking up for a few days." Ryan put his arm under her to help her sit up.

_"And who are you?"

_"I'm Beard and I'm leavin' because I only came here to tell 'im somethin' pretty important. But that can wait because I have to go somewhere pretty important." He left before he made things awkward. _Hmm. Both abnormally tall. Both abnormally timid. They'd make a cute couple. Now onto the next task; getting the labor crew to haul a three ton object back home._

\- [ ] -

Spawn

_"Oh my gosh! That thing is gigantic!" Cupa shouted.

_"Well I'm glad someone's excited, it took us three all afternoon to drag it back here." john said as Ricky collapsed on the ground.

_"You could still get us some water though," Kenko fell down next to him.

_"It is sooo big!"

_"Well, that's what she said." John said, managing to get a chuckle out of Ricky.

_"Ricky says that too, as a joke, but I still don't get it." Cupa said, clearly frustrated.

_"Are you serious?"

_"I'm afraid she is John, Cupa doesn't really know too much about... you know" Kenko replied for her.

_"She's at least fifteen!"

_"I _am_ fifteen! And I want to learn what sex is, but Teacher won't tell me!"

_"I can show you if you'd like." John offered, winking.

_"Hands off John, we have strict orders from Steve that no one is to lay a hand on Cupa." Kenko snapped. "Also, that was downright creepy, not flirtatious."

_"Yeah, and who's enforcing it?"

_"Beard."

_"Oh..." John thought for a second, sizing Beard up before asking, "Cupa, you said just a moment ago that 'Teacher' would tell you, who's Teacher?"

_"I haven't the slightest idea, she mentions him every once in awhile," Kenko again replied for her.

_"Stop cutting her off! Cupa, who is Teacher?"

_"You have to talk with Beard, he can introduce you." Cupa said quietly.

_"I'm starting to notice the hierarchy around here, and I've only been here half of a day. All of the power is with Steve and Beard!" John pointed out.

_"Have a problem with that?" Ricky came to their defense.

_"Maybe."

_"They work their asses off too, and plus, had it not been for them founding this settlement, we'd all be dead now. End of Topic. I'm going home." Ricky fired off.

_"Even among a few, leaders are necessary," Kenko agreed, leaving with him.

_John watched as the two left, "What's their problem?" He huffed when it was just Cupa and he.

_"It's dinner time, they're headed toward the table."

_"Ah."

_"Well, I'm hungry, and I can't wait to eat the wolf you caught!" Cupa said excitedly.

_"We only carried it here..."

_"Same difference, let's go."

\- [ ] -

_"All right! Is everyone here?" Beard announced.

_"Doesn't matter, just start," Steve said.

_"Thanks to the efforts of the huntin' and labor teams, we have food for months! New members today include John and Jessica."

_"Just call me Jess..."

_"I have no clue which group Jessica should go with, so if you want her, take her!"

_"I'm hungry..."

_"So rather than hearing me talk for an hour, we'll dig in after two recognitions. One, the laborious task of draggin' this animal over a mile back here was completed by the labor team, especially John! Two, Ryan has found a salt deposit; keepin' food fresh longer, and makin' meals overall tastier!"

_"What about the fact that my team killed it?" Steve mentioned. He was cut off.

_"Dig in!"

_They sat down along a slab of wood that served as a table. There were no plates or silverware; the meat was flopped on the table and pieces were ripped off with your hands. Yet, the feeling of barbarism was refreshing, and the fact that they were all messy together gave them team spirit. Although he had only known them for a few hours, John felt more at home here than with his gang. The atmosphere was so different than the life he had known. Even the rivalry between him and Steve was nothing compared to the conflicts back at home.

_John sat across from Steve, and Cupa next to John. Steve swallowed his pride with his meal, but couldn't help but let out a sarcastic remark. "So, John, I know you helped with a 'laborious task' but Cupa, what'd you do today?" Steve bluntly said, spitting in his hand to wash out his cuts.

_"Hung out with Andr."

_"She's awake?"

_"Only been maybe three hours," She pointed to the end of the table where Ryan was laughing with a girl that might even be his height.

_"So, Steve, the first words out of your mouth include a sarcastic comment to me before shifting the attention to Cupa?" _Little does Steve know I'm skilled in the art of comebacks._

_Cupa giggled at my retort.

_ _Oooo he took the bait. So you do want to fight? You little bastard..._ "I just don't like the fact that you took away my recognition."

_"You're the leader, don't you have enough recognition?"

_"You're a newbie, do you deserve any?"

_"I'm older than you."

_"I'm taller than you."

_"I'm stronger than you."

_"I'm faster than you."

_"I can burp my ABC's,"

_"What?" Cupa burst out laughing at Steve's dumbfound response.

_John explained, "I think we got off to a bad start, so I figured I would be best to stop the argument abruptly and start over."

_"Oh... ok?"

_"My name's John."

_"I'm Steve..." He said trying not to growl.

_"So Steve how long have you been working on this settlement?"

_"Beard, Cupa, and I have been-"

_"And Teacher!" Cupa cut off.

_"What?"

_"Let's tell him!"

_"Tell him what?"

_"About teacher!"

_"No"

_"Yes!"

_"N. PERIOD. O. PERIOD."

_"Why not?"

_"I don't trust him! No offense."

_"None taken," John said, listening to their argument.

_"Steve, listen! I didn't trust Beard for the longest time, and you kept telling me to. I believed in your decision to add him to the group, so I eventually became friends with Beard. Can you believe in my decision to add John?"

_John saw Steve hesitate as their eyes locked, "Fine, I could never turn down a valid argument from you. Let's get Beard over here."

\- [ ] -

_Beard, Steve, and Cupa led John a good ways away from the village, making it clear to him that they wanted this meeting to remain a secret. Finally, Beard turned to John, taking a glowing stone out of his pocket. "John, what yer about to see is confidential"

_"Ok."

_"The only people that know about it are the people in front of ya, as well as Ryan and Andr."

_"What could possibly be so important that it has to remain a secret?"

_"Me." A voice said, coming in the direction of the rock in Beard's hand. A flurry of different shades and tints of blue particles flew around them, overwhelming their consciousness.

\- [ ] -

_John, still dazed, was able to make out a voice, "Cool transition Teacher! I've never seen that one before!"

_"Thank you, you're too kind."

_"What just happened?" He asked, making it to his feet.

_"You have been transported to the Subconscious Plain!"

_"Who said that?" John asked, not recognizing the voice. He turned to its direction and was soon face to face with a giant blue owl.

_"I did. My name is Magister, and you are?"

_"J-John."

_"Nice to meet you, adding another member to our secret circle!"

_"I was going to ask you all that, why is this secret?"

_"John, I'll walk you through it." Magister said, "I am omniscient!"

_"No you're not!" Cupa cut in.

_"Hey! Zip it!"

_"But you're not!"

_"Bottom line is that I know a lot of crap."

_"Why is this a bad thing?" John asked.

_"It's not, it just has to be kept secret."

_"I'm not following."

_"Who are the leaders of this village?"

_"Steve and Beard."

_"Correct; they oversee everything and see to it that no one gets hurt. So, far they have been doing a good job with little to no guidance from me. However, because of my extensive knowledge and reasoning, I am better suited for their job."

_"So if people found out about you..."

_"No one would follow Steve."

_"You don't want to be the leader?"

_"Nope. I want to observe."

_"Why?"

_"Do I have to have a reason?"

_"I know you have one"

_"Well I'm sure not telling you! Anyways, there are other things you should know about me."

_"Like what?"

_Magister spent the next few minutes summarizing his abilities, as well as explaining the origins of Cupa and Andr. John listened, but did not seem as interested as anyone else who learned about the stone. After he was finished, Magister released them one by one into the world until only Steve remained.

_"Yes, Steve?"

_"Today with the wolf, I have a question I need for you to answer honestly."

_"Absolutely, fire away!"

_"As it was bleeding out, the wolf spoke to me. It told me that its creator was my enemy. What does this mean?"

_"I… I'm not sure. The wolf showed signs of sentience, you say?"

_"Yes."

_"I… I may need time to analyze this new information. Is there anything else about your encounter I should know about?"

_"Not that I can think of…"

_"Thank you Steve, I really will think about this. It is most peculiar."

_"It's just not sitting right with me, thanks for listening Magister." Steve smiled, "You can let me go now,"

_"Sure, see you in a few seconds," Magister said as he collapsed the Subconscious Plain. _Dammit. He definitely knows I lied to him. I have to stop bragging about my knowledge or else it will become all the more suspicious each time I "don't know" an answer._

\- [ ] -

_"Sunsets are beautiful; the sun, sky, and clouds come together in a colorful display. The sky on fire, the clouds glowing, and the sun bigger than it's been all day." Cupa said, taking it all in.

_"But it's not just a free show, in this world it comes at a price; survive the night." Steve interjected so that John would hear.

_John's mind was elsewhere though, _Cupa doesn't seem Creeper-like at all. She seems so cheerful, high spirited, not suicidal. Well I guess it's a good thing we're on night watch duty together tonight, I can ask her about it then._

_After returning to the settlement and getting the proper gear, there was hardly any brightness left in the sky.

_"Ok, so Beard told me that I had to teach you the basics. Not that I mind or anything, just don't get us killed."

_"I'll try not to," John chuckled, "There was a rustle coming from over there."

_"First night in a while that has spiders," she said as she approached the shadow and slashed through it.

_"I wouldn't know, but all the work you have to do to maintain a settlement really builds up a sweat."

_"And a smell..."

_"Smell? What smell?" John asked.

_"You mean you didn't die the moment you stepped into our camp?"

_"No..."

_"See, here's the problem; our camp is centered around the spawnpoint; _not_ a freshwater source. Because of this, drinking water has to be carried by hand from the lake, _and_ no one takes a bath."

_"It doesn't smell that bad..."

_"With no toilet paper or fresh clothes, everyone is smelling like sweaty garbage!"

_"The compost pile is far enough away from the town that it shouldn't matter."

_"It's not the compost pile that smells, it's the _town_ that smells; which is why I took matters into my own hands."

_"How so?"

_"I found these really sweet hot springs earlier today; and tomorrow, I'm going to sneak away from work and take a long needed bath."

_"Nobody knows about them?"

_"Not a one."

\- [ ] -

Woods

_John followed Cupa to the hot springs. When she claimed she found them yesterday, he didn't believe her. _That's why I followed her here; not because I wanted to see her naked. I'm not about that anymore,_ he told himself.

_About halfway up the mountain, Cupa stopped at a rock face. She pulled aside some vines and stepped inside a hidden cave. Peeking his head in, John discovered very unnatural hot springs with some rocks missing on the roof, forming a natural skylight.

_John watched as Cupa unzipped her hoodie and laid it out on a rock. He was amazed that she had only underwear underneath. She was facing away from him, which made him jump all the more when she said, "John, is that you?"

_John froze up, not knowing how to respond. _BUSTED. Or maybe not, Cupa's information on sexuality is limited, maybe if I…_ "Hey Cupa! What's up?"

_"Why did you follow me?" She said, whirling around.

_"First, how did you know it was me?"

_"I saw you following me before we entered the forest."

_"Dammit!"

_"Why did you follow me?"

_"I doubted such a place as this existed, and if it did, I wanted to join you."

_"Come on in!"

_ _Primary Security Perimeters breached; Steve and Beard have no clue. Secondary Security Perimeters breached; Cupa invited me in. If only…_

_They both stripped down to nothing and slipped in. It must've been at least 35 celsius outside; mush to hot a day to hot tub/spring. But the cave acted like a natural air conditioner and dehumidifier, so the water felt great. It was also a bit below shoulder level, allowing John to have a view of Cupa's beautiful breasts.

_"Ah!" Cupa sighed, sinking into the water "I haven't had a bath in almost two weeks! Everyone else should bathe too; the camp stinks unbearably."

_"You've told me this..."

_"Sorry; I want to get my point across. I should just relax while I can, you should too, since we both have the morning off."

_"Well, I will say that it is relaxing to take a bath; however, I'm here less because of the hot water and more because you're an attractive girl."

_"Sthap!" Cupa giggled, giving him a little splash.

_"Especially when you're naked," John grinned.

_Cupa blushed, covering her breasts, "You're weird," she said, splashing him harder.

_John leaned against the edge of the basin, looking up at the skylight, "So, I have some information you might want."

_"Yeah, such as?"

_"I can teach you what sex is." It was a bold move and he had no clue how she would respond.

_"Of course, if you don't want to know, that's fine with-"

_"That's not it, it's just that I've never done anything Teacher has told me not to do. But I think it's time I made my decisions on my own. Yes, John. Please tell me about sex."

_"It's easier if I showed you."

_"Ok."

_"Lesson 1; the difference between guys and girls."

_"Besides facial hair?"

_"Yup. Now you haven't been able to see it because we were facing away when we stripped and you can't see a whole lot through this steamy water, but my body is different than yours between the legs."

_"How so?"

_"Can I see your hand?" She gave John her hand and he brought it down his stomach to between his legs. Cupa screamed and jumped back when she felt what he was telling her about.

_"What the _fuck_ is _that?_ "

_"That's my penis thank you very much."

_"All guys have _that?"_

_"Yes! That is the difference between guys and girls, not just facial hair, not just attitude, not just boobs; but the presence of a dick."

_"Woah..."

_"Do you want to get a better feel?" She didn't say anything, but she slowly slid closer to him in the water and slowly returned her hand to where it was before.

_"That's sooo weird! Oh my God! What are these?" She was curiously feeling around.

_"Testicles, they're very sensitive." _I'm getting hard..._

_"So that's why you guys fall over when you get hit down there?"

_"Yes it's very painful when they get hit." _Oh my God her small hand feels so good!_

_"Is it moving? A-and getting bigger?"

_"Yes, it's called an erection, w-which brings us to Lesson 2! Sexual pleasure!"

_"So it feels good when I touch it?"

_"Yeah..." John couldn't help sighing.

_"Can I feel good too? Even though I don't have that?"

_"You want to find out?" John brought his hand to her pleasure center, and played with it the way his girlfriend used to like it. She was soon moaning, encouraging him further. "Are you okay with this?"

_"Y-yes," She breathed, "I don't know why teacher kept this a secret from me! This feels _amazing!"_

_ _That's because I haven't told you it's how you make kids, and you only do it with your significant other._ "Want me to try something else?"

_"Sure!"

_"It might not be as pleasurable as me fingering you, but I'd like to grope your boobs."

_"Go right ahead! This is fun!"

_John had to have been in the guiltiest position at that moment, both hands on both breasts, when his nightmare came to life before his eyes. Beard stepped through the vine doorway, silently huffing. _FUCK! I've only been here a day and a half and I already blew it! I'm dead! AGAIN!_ "Hey Beard! Nice day for a bath!"

_"JOHN! OUT OF THE WATER!"

_"Yes, sir..." He climbed out and rushed to put on his clothes.

_"Beard! Don't be so harsh on him! We were having fun!" Cupa protested, covering herself with her hoodie.

_"Shut up! You don't even know what you were doing!"

_"Yes I do! We were doing sex!"

_"Point proven. John, you better hope Magister's in a good mood today!"

_"No! Wait! Don't tell Magister! Umm how about Steve? I mean, Magister is basically her father; Steve's just another guy."

_"Correction, Steve would kill you. Magister might be her father, but at least he's reasonable and understands hormones."

_"I'm done for..."

_"You should know better, you're nineteen!"

_"I'm sorry..."

_"Are you? Or are you just sorry you got caught?"

_"Beard! That's enough!" Cupa interjected, throwing her hoodie at him in protest.

_"Cupa! That's enough out of you! And put some clothes on! We're hiking back to the village!"

_The hike back to the village was a long and silent one. It was the longest John had seen Cupa go without talking; the only sentence Cupa said to him was, "I'm sorry I got you in trouble. Am I still attractive to you?"

_John said nothing.


End file.
